Statement on Congressional Passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023

The bipartisan funding bill advances key priorities for our country and caps off a year of historic bipartisan progress for the American people.

This bill is good for our economy, our competitiveness, and our communities, and I will sign it into law as soon as it reaches my desk. This bill will advance cutting-edge research on cancer and other diseases through my ARPA-H initiative. It will put more cops on the beat, invest in community policing, and provide the highest funding level for the Violence Against Women Act in history. It will help us meet our sacred obligation to America's veterans and deliver on the promise of the PACT Act, my bipartisan legislation to expand health care benefits to veterans. It will provide additional assistance to Ukraine, another demonstration of our bipartisan support for Ukraine after President Zelenskyy's visit. It will help communities recovering from devastating natural disasters get back on their feet. And it'll strengthen worker protections for pregnant women.

I want to thank Senator Leahy, Senator Shelby, and Chairwoman DeLauro for their tireless work to get this done. Neither side got everything it wanted in this agreement. That's what happens in a negotiation.

And bipartisan Members of Congress passed the Electoral Count Act and took long overdue steps to protect the integrity of our elections. This is critical bipartisan action that will help ensure that the will of the people is preserved. I want to thank Senators Collins and Manchin, as well as Senators Klobuchar and Blunt, for finding compromise to strengthen our democracy in the face of election denialism and assaults on our bedrock constitutional values.

This bill is further proof that Republicans and Democrats can come together to deliver for the American people, and I'm looking forward to continued bipartisan progress in the year ahead.